


of all the coffee shops in the world… (you just had to walk into mine)

by Chiaroscuro555



Category: Actor RPF, Chinese Actor RPF, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst, BJYX | Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan is Real, Boys In Love, Dark Humor, Falling In Love, Fluff, Grim reaper Xiao Zhan, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26157733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chiaroscuro555/pseuds/Chiaroscuro555
Summary: Meet Wang Yibo, succesful racer, model, actor, rapper, dancer, and he's damn good at everything he does.Until he had the fatal accident that put him into coma...and woke up able to see ghost.Not the scary, bloody ghost, just the ones that looked like normal human, but they invaded his privacy so much he almost lose his mind.Then one day he entered the coffee shop near his place, in desperation for caffeine because the ghosts really don't have sense of time, to find there's no ghost at all at the coffeeshop.He almost cried happily but then he found out that the only reason the ghosts stay away from him is one very handsome grim reaper.Wang Yibo is a  very determined person, and he determined to do whatever it takes to make the ghosts away. Whatever it takes....including catnapping Jian Guo.
Relationships: Wang Yi Bo & Xiao Zhan, Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan
Comments: 37
Kudos: 239
Collections: BJYX Prompt Fest 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [bjyx_fest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/bjyx_fest) collection. 



> Grim Reaper! Xiao Zhan  
> Racer! WYB

  
  


_ The adrenaline spiked just as he was about to start the race, as usual. This is his most favourite moment from the race, the high he would get from the speed, the anticipation, the waiting and finally the winning. Oh, he always wins, not to brag about it or anything, but he was born to win. He had the nickname God’s Child because everything he touches, turns gold. _

_ He revved his monster of a machine and got ready to start the race. _

_ He took his turns and corners easily as he had practiced before, but before he turned on the last corner, he felt someone bumped his tail, making him swerved wildly, and the last thing he remembered was the blue sky and white clouds, dancing before his eyes. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


He woke up, dazed, in what seemed to be a hospital room.

He blinked, once, twice, looked around, before he felt someone tugging his feet. He looked at the bottom of his bed and found a kid, no more than 5 years old, giggling at him and pulling the corner of his pants.

“Gege, gege, let’s play, you’ve been sleeping long enough, now it’s time to play…”, the boy continued to tug at his pants, not letting him go while convincing him to play with him.

Although he never cared much about kids, strangely enough kids seemed to be very attached to him in almost every instance that he went to. Whether it's relatives or some kid actor or even kids he didn't know on the street.

“Not now, little boy, where’s your parents? Why did they let you go alone? This is a hospital, right?”, he asked while looking from left to right, maybe someone will come looking and fetch this child. He didn't feel good enough to pay any extra attention to a stranger's kid.

The boy suddenly went silent, and his eyes were full of tears.

“Mommy is not here, daddy too, they’ve left a long time ago…Now I’m alone, no one wants to play with me.” He looked sad, forlorn even, and Yibo’s heart clenched, there was a sudden feeling of uneasiness for this little boy.

“Come here little boy, let gege hug you…”, he gestured for the boy to come close to him but the boy made no move to come closer, so Yibo threw his blanket out and tried to touch the boy, only to find air.

“What the…”

He looked at the boy, now seemingly rather transparent, and his heart was beating so fast, he could feel it almost jumped out of his ribcage. But before he could do anything about it, a pretty young nurse went in and scolded him for getting out of his bed, since apparently, he was in a coma for 3 days.

“You’re not supposed to go up yet! What if something happened with your pretty head? Go back to sleep while I will call the doctor to check on you.”, she said while checking the IV and his vital statistics.

He looked at her, confusion written on his face,and asked her the question.

“Did you see a little boy here just now?”

She looked at him strangely. “Of course I did. He was a patient here and he liked to go around the hospital, greeting new people.”, she answered with a smile in her pretty face

Yibo lets out a long sigh.  _ So, he wasn't crazy.. _

He went back to sleep because although he felt good enough, apparently his body thought otherwise. He quickly fell into a deep sleep.

He woke up again in about an hour when someone, who looked like a doctor, pointed his mini flashlight to his eyes. 

“Ow?! No 'excuse me' or dinner first before you poked into my body?”, he asked grumpily as he settled to sit down in the bed, leaning on the headrest.

The doctor gasped and literally jumped from where he stood.

“He’s awake!!” he exclaimed then hurriedly pushed a button near the bed to alert the other personnels. 

“What do you mean I’m awake? I was awake when one of your nurses checked on me, about an hour ago?” he frowned at the incompetence of this doctor, he would surely ask for another one as soon as he could see his manager.

“What nurse? Nobody told us about any change of your condition since yesterday.” He looked at him strangely.

“Really? Petite, pretty young nurse, with long black hair and a mole underneath her left eye?”, he asked, one eyebrow raised up as he described the nurse. 

The doctor went pale. He scrambled to hold on to anything he could lay his hand on, and it was an unfortunate IV pole, attached to Yibo's arm. Thankfully it didn't move too far to do some real damage. He then cleared his throat and struggled to find his voice before finally he could speak in a hoarse tone.

“Are you sure, Mr. Wang? I mean about the nurse?”, he asked again, just to make sure he heard it clearly.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure. She stood right where you are right now and I’m not the one to easily forget a pretty face.”, he frowned now and anxious by the way the doctor looked at him.

“We did have a nurse like that. Her name was MeiLin. But she was dead in a shooting accident right here in this hospital, 3 years ago today.”

Yibo gaped at the doctor’s words.

_ What? _

“Uhm, then, what about a patient here, a young boy, yay high , about 5 years old?”, he asked again, his mind is now racing back to the time he's been chatting with the boy. 

“I think I know who you’re talking about, but then again, he passed away last week. How do you know all that, Mr. Wang?”, the doctor replied and is also now partly scared and curious at the same time. Yibo could see it from the doctor's trembling hands that gripped the IV pole.

But he could not hear anything else since his soul seems to be flying out from his body right now. It was like an ethereal, out-of-his-body experience. 

“I… I…forget it, I think I just had a strange dream just now.”, he answered, dismissing his thought and just brushed it off with a forced smile.

The doctor looked at him strangely and noted something on his chart.

“I’m going to order an MRI and full body scan, Mr. Wang, given the injuries that you’ve got from your accident.”, the doctor then informed him, not wanting to expand the discussion of the hospital's patients as well. He looked at Wang Yibo then gave him a gentle smile. "If possible, I would like you to talk to a psychiatrist as well."

“Yes to the MRI,let me think about the… shrink, thanks.”, he nodded and he went back to lay on his bed, his mind wandering off to the seemingly deceased people he talked to.

_ Had he gone basketcase? _

  
  
  
  
  
  


\-----

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The MRI came back clean, as expected. The shrink? He didn't want to admit it yet. But he kept the name card on him. Just in case.

His mom and manager were there too, to take care of the administration and everything else. Yibo himself, after escaping from his suffocating duo, wandered around the hospital until he found the cafeteria. He felt his stomach grumble, and he walked inside to find some decent food other than the porridge they gave him during his stay at this hospital.

He found a row of vending machines with cold/hot drinks, and a few snacks he likes. He rummaged his pants to search for coins, when suddenly a feminine, porcelaine-like hand, hands him a bunch of coins.

"You can use mine, I have no use of it anymore." 

Yibo looked up to the owner of the hand, and found a beautiful woman, with long dark hair at the back and shorter in front, and a doll-like feature. Just like a Japanese doll comes to life. He was speechless for a while, because this woman wore a full set of red kimono with phoenix embroidery, complete with the geisha-look makeup, but before he could say anything, the woman walked away, leaving him alone, clutching coins that he had no intention of using anymore.

And before he could do anything else, he heard a light giggling voice from behind, making him froze. 

"Don't worry about Asuka, she loves to give people coins, she had a lot of those, you know..."

He turned around to find a young woman, a girl really, sat on one of the hospital benches in front of the vending machines.

"Oh, my..." she gasped dramatically, and stood up to get closer to Yibo. "Gege, you are really handsome!!" 

Suddenly her face is now only mere inches from Yibo's, making him take a few steps backward. "Wow, I never seen anyone as handsome as you, ge, what's your name? My name is Yaoyao, I'm 18...well, I would be, anyway, not important, do you want something from the vending machine? I can get it for you if you want, I personally liked the sour cream and onion chips, or maybe the seaweed one, don't buy the chilli pepper one, it will burn your throat so bad...." but Yibo did not hear the rest of her one-sided conversation because he already ran away from the place when he saw the girl's hand just went through the glass front of the vending machine while picking the flavor. 

It took every ounce of his self control not to scream like a girl right there and then.

_ What in the damnation hell happened? _

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

He woke up with a thrumming headache under his eyes. 

Ever since he got back from the hospital, he might have attracted a bunch of stray souls. They stuck to him like glue, giving commentary about anything and everything, woke him up in the middle of the night, even scared off some of his potential girlfriends. 

Not that he wants to have a girlfriend, he just tried to wrap himself around the idea of having someone to come home to. And here he is, getting few someone at once, plus minor headaches. 

Every. Single. Day. 

The ones that stuck around since his departure from the hospital are Yaoyao, the talkative ghost with a huge appetite for snack and a rather possessive streak, Asuka, the mysterious Japanese woman in red kimono who liked to leave coins everywhere but rarely talk, and the little boy who liked to play legos,  _ his  _ legos, and such an attention whore he might as well having a dog, Suo-er. 

In a way, he's got an older sister, a younger sister, and a little brother all at once, and his life has never been more crowded.

"Gege, are you going somewhere today? Can I come? I want to come, I'm bored, I want to play." Suo-er clung to his leg while pouting. Yaoyao, who sat on the perch on top of the helmet case, is reading Yibo's old comic while munching some chips, courtesy of one of his brand endorsements.

"Yaoyao, please play with Suo-er, I have to go soon, and please don't follow me, I don't want anything to happen like the last time you did." He walked over to the counter to grab his helmet and bag, before warning the girl once more.

"Yaoyao." He looked at her with a stern gaze and he crossed his arms to make the full effect.

The last time Yaoyao and Suo-er came with him to one of his photoshoots because she stated that she 'never saw anything like a photoshoot in her whole life', there had been chaos everywhere. Mysteriously disappearing snacks, moving props, and the appearance of old coins in the oddest of places (turned out Asuka had also come), making the staff freaked out and deemed that the location was haunted. 

If only they knew that it's not the location, it's their star, that would be the end of his career.

"But then you can be the host of Paranormal Investigation, or something like that." Yaoyao had this obsession with ghost hunting tv series, and she wanted him to do some kind of not hunting but more like an interview. 

To make more friends. 

Ghost friends.

"And what makes you think I want to be involved with MORE ghosts? You three already made me stuck in a state of perpetual headache, are you trying to give me a stroke?" He rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Fine. I'll keep an eye on them." Yaoyao answered him with a pout, and never took her gaze off the comic. "BTW, my chips are almost done. D. O. N. E. Please bring some more back after work." 

"How many bags did you eat already? I got like 3 huge boxes of them!"

"Yeah, well, be grateful that all I eat is just potato chips, ge..." she threw him a look, then continued eating and reading. 

Yibo shook his head and headed outside before he got cornered by Suo-er again or worse, given coins by Asuka-san. 

Those goddamn coins are everywhere, inside his pocket, his bag, his shoes, his helmet, under his pillow, HIS PILLOW. 

He told them specifically not to enter his room because, privacy and all. But it looked like ghosts had a selective hearing, only heard what they wanted.

He decided to stop at the nearest coffee shop for his daily caffeine boost. He had long tried to differentiate and ignore the ghosts around him. As long as he pretends not to see them, they won't bother him. 

But sometimes an extra nanosecond of too long a gaze would make them realize that he could see them, and they would come to him at this frightening speed. Not to do anything, just to talk to him, and sometimes ask him to pass a message to their beloved. 

But he never did so. 

Who's gonna believe him? 

Wang Yibo, actor, model, racer, talks to ghosts? Yeah, right. They will put him into the asylum and throw away the key faster before you can say gesundheit.

He pulled off his helmet, and walked inside the coffee shop. He's been here for at least twice a week, and despite the prime location, this place has the least amount of ghost infestation in the whole neighbourhood. Not that he checked. 

No, it's a lie, he checked. Three times.

He ordered triple espresso and a banana muffin, and picked a place on the corner, near the window with a soft couch, and only one other person at the other end of it, a man wearing all black, with a black fedora hat, focused on something on his iPad. He looks familiar. Maybe one of the actors he saw somewhere before. But he shrugged it off and minded his own business, to keep the quiet for at least an hour before work.

He wished he could spend the rest of the day just dozing up here, content with nothing to do, no ghost, and no headache, and finally catching up on his sleep. 

He didn't realize that he had been dozing off for the last 30 minutes when he startled and opened his eyes to the movement beside him. He jerked himself up, to see a stranger, the man in a black fedora, looked at him strangely.

He tilted his head, and kept looking at Yibo.

"You...can see me?"

His tone was something resembling a curiosity, making Yibo feel like he's doing something that he wasn't supposed to do.

"Uhm... yes?" He was very cautious these days, with no way to tell if a spirit is malevolent or friendly. And he has no idea if this man, a very beautiful man indeed, is a spirit or human. That never happened to him after the hospital. He slowly finds the telltale signs of difference between the ones alive and the ones not, and this one person falls in between. Strange.

"Was I not supposed to?" He asked the man in black, cautiously, afraid of somehow offending him.

The man just continued staring at him, but a little less intense now, before he finally got up, and left Yibo. But before he reached the door, he turned around and looked at him dead in the eye.

"Be careful of who you're letting into your life. Not everything is as it seems." 

And then he left. Leaving a trail of cold breeze that's creeping up on Yibo's spine.

He was stunned for a while before he scrambled to get up from the couch and ran toward the man, trying to catch up with him. Unfortunately, he found no trace of him after he opened the door and looked left and right. There's no one there. Not even a single ghost.

He wanted to scream, he felt so exasperated these days he doesn't know what to do. It seems like his life has spiraled out of control ever since his accident.

_ Wait _ .

He looked left and right again. And again. Just to make sure.

There's not a single ghost in vicinity.

_ How? _

In those three whole months after he checked out of the hospital, his life was a constant chaos, with ghost sightings everywhere. Surprising him in the less exceptional moments, almost caught him in flagrante delicto, peeking on his most private moments, commenting about his... techniques, looks, every single damn thing.

And now they're just... gone?

He had to find out what happened, and he's pretty sure it has something to do with the mysterious man.

  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Yibo stalked the coffee shop everyday to catch a glimpse of the beautiful man in all black, but he didn't meet him again until the next week. 

The man was reading a book when Yibo came into the coffee shop, and when he saw him, he immediately came over to talk to him.

"Who are you?" Yibo sat in front of him, eager to know more about him, and what made him disperse all the ghosts.

The man was very startled to see Yibo approaching him. He looked at his left and right and then back to Yibo again.

"You.. could see me?" He frowned.

"Well, obviously? Do you think I'm talking to air here?" Yibo sat in front of him, sighing. "I was looking for you these last few weeks. Do you live around here? What's your name?"

"Whoah, down boy, what do you mean you're looking for me? Why?" The man was very curious now. He straightened up his body and leaned over slightly to Yibo.

"I…" right at that time, the waitress came and put down his order in front of him, while looking at him strangely. 

"Is there anything else?" She asked.

"No thanks." And his attention was back to the man in front of him. "Tell me your name. Please." He pouted and widened his eyes, putting a cute act he knew for sure would melt anyone's within 10 mile radius.

"Save it boy, I won't be affected by your tempting smile. And before you asked, isn't it more polite to introduce yourself first before you demand others for their name?"

"You might as well say so." He offered his hand while grinning at the handsome man in front of him. "Hi, my name is Wang Yibo, I'm a professional racer, and I see ghosts."

The man looked at him without any expression in his stoic face. Then just when Yibo was about to snap his fingers, he started to speak.

"Is this how you usually introduce yourself? By telling them you see ghosts?" He tilted his head in an amused manner.

"Well… only you, ge" he smiled widely, showing off his pearly whites.

"Tell you what, kid, do you notice the waitress that has just come? Do you see how she looked at you weirdly?" 

Yibo was confused with the way this conversation went, but he shook his head.

"Well, you should, because you were talking to the wall here, and I mean literal wall. She could not see me."

Yibo could not believe his ears.

He looked back to the waitress, who's still eyeing him suspiciously.

"Go ahead, ask her."

Yibo was never one to back down from any challenge, so he stood up and walked to the still-eyeing-him waitress.

"Hi." He gave her his most enchanting smile, making the waitress blush a little.

"Yes, what can I help you, Sir?"

"I want to order 2 hot lattes and give me 2 of your cheese croissants. For me and my friend." He added.

"Right away, Sir. Will your friend be joining you later? Should I warm the croissants now, or…?"

"He's sitting with me already?" He felt his sweats start to pool under his spine, afraid of what the waitress would say next.

"Uhm, you mean he's going to sit with you when he comes?" That strange look was back again.

"So, you saw me sitting there… alone?" He knew the answer right away.

"...yes? Are you sure you're okay, Sir?"

"No… I mean yes, I'm fine. You can warm them up right now, I feel starving all of the sudden." He gave her a weak smile before he went back to his seat.

"Well?" The man chuckled seeing his shocked state.

"Does this mean that you're also a ghost?" He felt so dejected, after all the high hopes he had.

"Well, yes, and no." He gave Yibo a satisfied grin, before he leaned back into his chair.

"Please, be any more cryptic so my head can explode and I can die in peace without seeing you ghosts ever again." He groaned into his hands.

"Such a drama queen." 

But then he took off his fedora and put it on the table, just in time with the arrival of the waitress.

"Here you go, Sir. Just in time for your friend's arrival." She gave a huge smile to the man in black. "Enjoy your food, call me if you need anything else." Then she left.

_ What the fuck. _

"What in the hell just happened?"

"Language, boy." He broke off the corner of the croissant and popped it in his mouth. "Now, tell me everything before I finish this croissant."

Yibo fumed being called a boy, but he really needed this man's help, so he let it slide. Then he told him the whole story started from when he had his accident.

  
  


"Hmm… so, what I've gathered is that you've started seeing ghosts right after your accident?" The man sipped his coffee while looking at Yibo. "This is actually a common enough phenomenon that happened after someone was on the brink of death."

"Tell me how to get rid of that, my life was crazy enough and add to this? I don't know how long I can survive on coffee and light naps." He started to feel desperate, and tired. Very, very tired.

"Kid… I don't think this is something that we can talk about in public. Why don't you come with me? We'll talk more later." He stood up and took his hat. "Oh, and the name is Xiao Zhan."

  
  
  
  


They walked together side by side, and Yibo noticed that everywhere they go, there's not one single ghost around them. But he kept silent until they walked all the way to the edge of the city, and entered one of the small little cottages with a garden.

"This is where you live?" 

He couldn't help himself. This image seemed so… wrong.

"Why? Do you expect me to live in a haunted house? Or in a coffin?" He opened the door to the cottage and showed Yibo inside. "Come on in, watch your step."

Yibo came inside and took a look around. 

The cottage looked… normal. No black cat, no skull, no bubbling pot full of strange concoction… then he yelped when he felt something graze his ankle. He looked down to find a beautiful white cat purring at him.

"Well well, princess, do you like him?" Xiao Zhan took the cat and pet her. "Her name is Jianguo, and before you ask, she's just a normal cat, not a familiar."

"Where's the cauldron? The huge grill? The cookie house?" Yibo teased him, grinning.

"What? You think I'm some kind of a cannibal witch? I'm a grim reaper and I'm a vegan." Xiao Zhan retorted, but seeing the distaste in Yibo's face, he couldn't help but laughed. "Just joking. The vegan thing, not the grim reaper thing."

_ Ah, so that's why the ghosts wouldn't come closer. _

"So, what should I do? Sacrifice my first born? Giving you my blood? Be your slave?" He sat on one of the cozy looking chairs near the window, while the grim reaper sent him a look of distaste.

"I really do wonder what's inside that pretty head of yours, to paint me in such… gore." He took off his hat, and his shoes. "All you need is a good sleep today, and we'll talk again after you wake up. You look like you will drop at any moment."

"Yeah, lack of sleep will do that to humans. Wait, what? Sleep? Here?" 

"Yes. Not here obviously, bedroom." He walked off to the back of the house and opened the last door to show a comfortable bedroom. "There, make yourself at home."

"Well, I have to, since my own apartment was infested by  _ ghosts _ ." He walked to the bed and pulled off his shirt. "Are you going to join me?" He winked at the grim reaper, making him blushed. 

"Shameless…." Xiao Zhan huffed, turning his back and left him alone in the bedroom to sleep.

Yibo only chuckled, and he observed his surroundings. It was a medium sized bedroom with an antique bed and antique dresser. There's no mirror anywhere, and to think back, he didn't remember seeing mirrors anywhere since he's been invited in.

He really felt… comfortable, and warm, and sleepy. He didn't think much when he laid his head down on the soft pillow, smelling of sandalwood and citrus, then fell asleep immediately.

  
  
  
  


He woke up from the sound of cutlery clanging and the sizzling of a dish. The smell was so good he's salivating right there and then. 

He looked around in daze before remembering where he was and he jolted up, surprised. He took a look at his watch and noticed that it's already past midnight. 

_ He was asleep for more than 8 hours. _

And it was the most soundless sleep he ever had.

No dreams, no nightmares, nothing.

He stood up, stretched his body, and yelped when he noticed the cat was staring at him.

"Ehm… Jianguo wasn't it? Hi there kitty…" he tried to pet the kitty and she purred happily, letting him.

"She likes you." 

Yibo jolted once again, not realizing the other's presence. Xiao Zhan was wearing a soft looking sweater and a jogging track. He looked… different. Soft. And in turn, it made Yibo suddenly feel hot.

"Come, you've been sleeping for a very long time, I made something to eat." Xiao Zhan turned around and Yibo followed.

"You mean you cooked?" He walked closely behind the reaper, and bumped into him when the latter stopped.

"Is that so hard to believe?" He shrugged then continued his path to the kitchen where he gestured to Yibo to sit on the chair. There were already a few dishes out. 

Yibo's salivating at the sight and the smell of those simple dishes. There's a plate of stir fried vegetables, and a plate of pork belly dish cooked in aromatics. Also a bowl of hot rice, which made him gulp in anticipation.

Xiao Zhan laddled the soup from a big pot on the stove and gave it to Yibo.

"Drink this, it's good for your health." He put down a bowl of lotus roots and pork ribs soup.

Yibo smelled it and took a spoonful of sip.

"Wow, Zhan-ge, this… this is so good!" He lapped up the rest of the soup and slurped it until the last drop.

"Easy, no need to hurry. Here, now eat your rice." Xiao Zhan took a piece of the pork belly and put it on Yibo's bowl, then he took vegetables for himself.

"So, the vegan part is also true?" Yibo shoveled rice, pork belly and vegetables into his mouth, making it bulge to full capacity.

"You look like a hamster. Slow down on the eating, they're not going anywhere." Xiao Zhan ate like a prince. So elegant and with precise movement. It made Yibo wonder.

"Tell me, Zhan-ge, you always take a stray person back to your house and feed them?" 

"Only the persistent ones." 

"Anyway, as you've said before, let's talk. How to get rid of this… sight."

"You can't." Xiao Zhan sipped his soup, while his eyes never left Yibo. "I'm sorry but you can never get rid of this… gift."

Yibo stop chewing. He swallowed everything, before he could speak again.

"You mean… I'm stuck with this… curse… forever?" He put down his chopstick, his appetite gone.

"To put it that way… yes."

  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

Yibo walked back home in a state of daze, after hearing Xiao Zhan's explanation. He was actually welcoming him to stay, because he had to go out and work anyway, but Yibo needed time to think, to clear his head.

He walked around, clearly avoiding going back home, where there's his 'roommates' waiting. He was just not in the mood to do anything, when his eyes caught a 24 hours arcade. His feet dragged him inside and he reached for his pockets for coins… to find none of it. 

This was the only, _only_ time, he missed Asuka. 

Or more precisely her unlimited coins.

Although sometimes the coins were from different eras, and useless, mostly it was the right currency.

He walked to the clerk behind the desk and exchanged a few bills for coins to put into the machine. The clerk, a girl, eyed him, then she smiled flirtatiously. She gave him loads of coins and a paper with her number on it. 

Yibo thanked her, took the coins, and left out the number.

It was not the first time it happened, and it wouldn't be the last time. Although he wore a mask, something in the way he carried himself always attracted people. In time, he learnt to just ignore them, and told them straight to the point if they did not seem to catch the drift.

He walked to the rows of car racing machines, plopped down on one of the empty seats and started to play.

He played for almost an hour before his coins were depleted and he looked at his watch to find it almost two hours had passed since he left Xiao Zhan's home. He stretched his body languidly like a cat, and stood up to go home.

  
  
  
  


He prepared himself for the barrage of naggings and crying, but instead he found himself in an empty apartment.

_Empty. Apartment._

He took his time to search for the three annoying ghosts, but nothing. It's as empty as the day before his accident.

He was stunned for a moment, then decided to ask Xiao Zhan when he realized he didn't even have his number, or even if he had a phone with him or not. He decided to go back to his cottage later that night.

He was happily humming and shedding his clothes, walking around in nude and taking a bath without being afraid of someone might barging into the bathroom, interrupting his bath. After a long soak, he got out and not bothering to put anything on, took his discarded clothes and put it into the washing machine. He checked the pockets, as usual, and found a leftover coin… and a handkerchief.

He was pretty sure he never owned a handkerchief before, so the question was, how does it get there in his pocket, in the first place? It was obviously a man's handkerchief.

The first person that popped in his mind was Xiao Zhan. It's probably his.

He took a whiff of it, and found a comforting familiar smell of sandalwood and citrus. He put it aside and made a mental note to return it to the owner.

Or not.

  
  
  
  
  


He was still in the bathtub when his phone rang. He tried to ignore it but it rang incessantly, so he picked it up with a growl. Turned out it was his manager, confirming his today's schedule. He had two photoshoots and one filming of an ad.

He hated photoshoots.

There were always ghosts, or some other kind of entity bothering him, and he hated that. He hated ghosts in general, hell, he was afraid of the dark. So ghosts were really way out of his comfort zone.

But a job was a job and he needed the money.

So he steeled himself, got out of his comforting bath, and got ready to work. 

His manager picked him up exactly 30 minutes later and told him the location of the shooting which made him groan.

It was the most haunted location he ever stumbled into since the first time he started his career as a model. And since it was a halloween night… well, great. Just great. He should just wear a blindfold and get it over with.

They got to the place shortly after, and there were already commotion in place to prepare for the shooting, which coincidentally was a halloween themed one. He cursed inwardly and got ready to ask for a blindfold when he noticed something different. 

The air was lighter. 

There's no ominous heaviness that's normally accompanied the presence of the ghosts.

He looked to his left and right, and noticed that everyone seemed in a good mood, and there's no ghosts in the vicinity. 

"Don't you think it's different this time? Not as… creepy as the last time?" His assistant commented on the difference.

"Mm." He didn't know how to answer so he just let himself be dragged away by the costume jiejie to doll him up, preparing for the photoshoot.

It was not until the last of the photoshoot when the first ghost appeared.

Yibo did not pay much attention when the woman appeared. 

She looked just like a normal person, standing aside from all the commotions and looked around her, lost. It was not until she turned around that Yibo saw the gaping hole where her brain was supposed to be.

His breath hitched and he turned around to avoid meeting the gaze of the said ghost.

Not a moment later, they swarmed the place. Some looked angry, some confused as of why they were repelled in first place.

Yibo hastened his movement and packed up his stuff before he hid in the van that was going to take him back to his next appointment.

  
  
  
  
  


It was already night when he jumped from the van before it fully stopped and ran to his apartment, to find Suo-er playing with his lego and Yaoyao perched on the top of his helmet shelf. Asuka was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi, gege, why are you coming back so late? Where's my chips?" Yaoyao jumped from the shelf and landed on Suo-er's lego, making him cry.

"What do you mean? I was back here this morning."

"Uhm, no? We would notice if you're here?" She walked closer to sniff Yibo. "Strange, you smell, different. Did you have sex?"

Yibo gasped.

"What? What do you mean?" He was frantically sniffing his armpits and his clothes, to find a faint smell of sandalwood.

"You smell different, I don't like it." She pouted. 

"Where's Asuka?" He tried to change topic from his non-existent sex life.

"She was just here, maybe she went out to the balcony when she heard you coming. She would definitely hate your smell."

_What smell?_

He didn't think much about it. He just dropped everything and grabbed his bike key and helmet.

"Out again, ge? You're so busy lately, you barely have time for us." Yaoyao gave him a scrutinizing eye. "Are you going on a date?"

"None of your business. I'm not going back tonight."

"But, ge…"

The sentence was cut when he ran outside. He needed to see Xiao Zhan like _now._

  
  


\-----

  
  
  


"Back so soon?"

Xiao Zhan was in the kitchen, cooking, when Yibo came in without knocking.

"What did you do to me? Why did the ghost disappear after I came back from your place?" 

He was heaving and put his helmet on the table.

"Ooh, you're cooking? I'm hungry…" he sniffed the air and tried to take a peek behind Xiao Zhan's shoulder.

"I have a feeling you'd be here. And here you are." He said sarcastically and slapped his wandering hand. "Go wash your hand before you eat."

"Yes Zhan-ge, right away Zhan-ge."

Yibo walked to the bathroom and washed his hands and face, then he returned to the kitchen area.

Xiao Zhan was putting two bowls of piping hot noodles and a plate of _jiaozi_ in the middle, and the aroma made Yibo's stomach growled. He remembered he didn't have time to eat today with all the photoshoot ruckus and home situation.

"So, ge…"

"Eat first, talk later." Xiao Zhan took a piece of hot jiaozi and put it in Yibo's mouth. The gesture was so intimate it took an extra second for Yibo to close his mouth and chew.

The jiaozi was _delicious._

"You made this yourself, ge? It's so delicious!" He popped in another one before he finished the first one, making his cheek bulged, and some of the juices flowing out.

"Aiyyaa, you eat like a kid." Xiao Zhan took a napkin and wiped the meat juice on Yibo's chin.

"I'm not a kid." Yibo half swatted the hand that wiped his chin. "I'm old enough to… to… to have sex." 

Then he realized what he said and blushed wildly.

"Oh? Really? Good for you then. Any girlfriend? Is that why you want to desperately get rid of the ghosts? _To have sex with your girlfriend?_ " He slammed his chopsticks on the table and stood up. "I'm sorry, I-I'm going to go first. Finish your meal and we'll talk later."

Yibo wondered why Xiao Zhan became so angry. 

He swallowed the _jiaozi_ and followed Xiao Zhan, forgetting about the delicious food.

"Zhan-ge…" he found him sitting on the porch swing with Jianguo on his lap. His gaze was so far away, and his hand stroke Jianguo's fur absentmindedly.

Yibo told him to scoot over and then sit beside him.

"Ge, what's the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

There was a long stretch of silence before Xiao Zhan sighed heavily, then turned his head to look at him.

"Nothing. I'm sorry, I shouldn't act like that." He gave him a weak smile. "Maybe my work is catching up to me. I just feel so… tired." Then he stood up and walked back inside. "Come on, let's continue eating. I know you must be hungry."

They walked together, with Yibo falling in a step behind, still wondering what the hell just happened. But he gave up and continued eating the noodles and _jiaozi_.

"So, Zhan-ge, can you tell me why the ghosts seemed to avoid me today?" He slurped the noodles loudly. "And by the way I found your handkerchief in my pocket. Did you put it there?"

"Oh, so that's where it went. I thought I must have misplaced it somewhere." Xiao Zhan answered him calmly, but he didn't look at Yibo at all.

Yibo thought about it for a few seconds, then continued eating.

"So, what was it that repelled the ghosts?"

Xiao Zhan ate slowly, as if not hearing the question, and Yibo waited patiently until Xiao Zhan was ready to talk.

They finished the meal and Yibo picked up the dirty dishes to wash it, when he heard Xiao Zhan speak softly.

"My scent."

Yibo put the dishes in the sink, before he turned back to Xiao Zhan.

"What about your scent, ge?" He came closer, and sniffed him. "You smell good, like sandalwood and citrus-y thingy." He moved closer, invading the older's space and put his arms on his waist. Then he buried his face in Xiao Zhan's neck.

He heard Xiao Zhan gasped and instinctively pushed him back, but Yibo held on tight.

"I don't know why but your smell is so… you." He tightened his grip on Xiao Zhan's waist, making him squeak.

Xiao Zhan quieted, and held himself still. But Yibo could hear his heartbeat, and he wondered why everything about Xiao Zhan was making him calm, like he had nothing to worry about.

"Yibo…"

"Was it your handkerchief? Your perfume? Did you put your handkerchief in my pocket?" Then he whispered in his ear. "Did you do that to protect me?"

The whisper came out more intimate than he intended, and he felt Xiao Zhan shudder in his arms, and a little moan escaped his lips.

The moan stirred something in Yibo's southern region, but before he could do, or think about it, Xiao Zhan pushed him away.

"Yes, I put my handkerchief in your pocket to ward off the ghosts. They wouldn't come near you. But it had limited time." His face was flushed, and Yibo never saw anything that was more beautiful. "I was just experimenting with the time limit when I put the handkerchief on you." He moved to the sink and picked up the dirty dishes and started to wash them.

"Oh? So you _do_ care about me, Zhan-ge." His voice became teasing and he moved closer, invading Xiao Zhan's space. "If it's really your scent that drove the ghosts away, wouldn't it be more effective if you just give me… a kiss?"

  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Xiao Zhan was too stunned to answer and Yibo was getting bolder, encircling his arms around Xiao Zhan's waist. He murmured something foreign, and then he pressed his lips behind Xiao Zhan's ear.

"Ge… I-"

But before he could finish it, there's a loud knock on the door, and it straight away sobered Xiao Zhan up. He moved away from Yibo's embrace, thankful for whoever it was that came uninvited.

"Ah, sorry, I need to see who is on the door this late at night…"

He walked to the door to open it, and a surprise gasp escaped from him.

"Zuocheng! What a surprise!" He laughed and hugged the man that just came.

Yibo had this inexplicable expression in his face, when Xiao Zhan turned to face him again.

"Ah, Zuocheng, this is Yibo, and he's…"

"Leaving. See you Zhan-ge."

He picked his helmet and nodded curtly to the newcomer and left with the thunderous sound of his bike.

Xiao Zhan sighed and walked back to the kitchen, Zuocheng followed him.

  
  
  


\-----

  
  
  


Yibo rode his bike in anger, and he exceeded the speed limit when finally he realized that he endangered himself and the others, and slowed down.

He pulled over and took a deep breath to calm himself, although he had no idea why he felt so pissed and annoyed. 

_ That was because of that strange man's presence.  _

_ Admit it, you're jealous. _

Jealous of what exactly?

He was just teasing Xiao Zhan, without meaning anything. He liked the way Xiao Zhan blushed and stuttered when he came within a certain distance from him.

It was like…

It was like... he  _ liked _ him.

_ It was like he liked him. _

Oh god.

Did Xiao Zhan like him? 

He knew he liked Xiao Zhan, he liked his smell, his voice, the sounds he made, the food he cooked, his cat, his… 

Oh.  _ OH _ . 

For christ sake...he liked _ liked him. _

That realization hit him straight on his solar plexus, and it made him wheeze. 

He  _ liked  _ a man… no… a  _ non human  _ nonetheless… 

He banged his helmet head onto the bike repeatedly in a frustrated motion.

_ God… damn… it…  _

How could he didn't realize it sooner?

After banging his head repeatedly for another while, he decided that he should go home, to check if it's true that Xiao Zhan's scent was the one that kept the ghosts away. 

And to  _ think _ .

  
  
  
  


\-----

  
  
  
  


"So… how did he find you?" Zuocheng sat on the chair while Xiao Zhan poured him tea.

"Beats me. He just appeared one day out of nowhere and started pestering me." He took a seat in front of Zuocheng and poured himself tea.

Zuocheng sipped his tea calmly, saying nothing but he gave Xiao Zhan a doubtful look.

"Xiao Zhan…"

"I swear I didn't do anything." Xiao Zhan walked to the kitchen and prepared some tea. 

Zuocheng followed him quietly into the kitchen, and sat on one of the chairs.

"So, to what honor do I owe this visit? I thought you'll be busy with my absence…" Xiao Zhan poured the hot tea into the tiny cups in the middle of the table.

"That's what I want to talk to you about." Zuocheng took the cup and blew on it a few times before taking a sip. "Nice. You made this by yourself?"

"Yeah, it's not like I have a lot to do in this part of the city, as you're so gracefully pointed out." He took a sip himself. "So, what happened?"

"I want you to come back. And take your rightful position."

Xiao Zhan was quiet.

"I thought we had a deal when… back  _ then _ ."

"Right. As if I could do that. I mean, hell, I was just a fucking  _ gatekeeper _ , for christ sake." He slammed the cup on the table until it disintegrated into dust.

"That was one of my good sets."

"Who cares?" Zuocheng swiped at the whole pot and glasses, and it all shattered. "I want you back! Please stop playing house with  _ him!" _

"Zuocheng…"

"Please, how long do you want to play with that… feeble human? You know that his lifespan was very short right? It's like a blink of the eye for you."

"Then you wouldn't mind waiting for the blink of the eye, would you?"

"...why?" Zuocheng's eyes were getting red, literally. "Why that boy? What is he to you? Why did you… degrade yourself for him? Please give me one good reason…" there was a quiet desperation in Zuocheng's voice, the one that Xiao Zhan had never heard before.

"Do you really need me that much?" Xiao Zhan tilted his head, "and here I thought you have everything under control ever since I… left."

Zuocheng massaged his head for a few moments before he answered him.

"It's father…" he looked straight at Xiao Zhan. "He knew you saved him, and left to play house with him. He's… well, angry would be too mild to describe the state he was in the last time I saw him."

Xiao Zhan sighed.

"And you can't handle our father? I thought you said you had him wrapped around your little finger?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with an answer since obviously I am here, begging for you to come back to Hell with me and unruffled father's feathers."

"You really are too kind if you thought I could unruffled father's feathers, like you said. He got angry every other day over trivial matters. Why don't you call Xuan Lu… or better yet,  _ mother _ ?"

Zuocheng let out a surprise gasp and a few of his dark purple feathers fell off, flying around them.

"Don't you dare!"

"What? You're still  _ that _ afraid of our sister and mother?" He chuckled.

Zuocheng hissed and for a second there, his fangs showed.

"Right. I get it. No sister or mother. Only you and I. Against father."

"More precisely, only you. I'm not gonna stay between you guys, I'd rather face another plague or famine rather than both of you in the same room."

"You must be joking, right? You came here only to tell me to see father and then you… scram? What the hell, bro?"

"Right back at you,  _ bro _ … what the hell? I was indulging you back then, but now it seems like it was more complicated than whatever it is that you let me know."

"Yeah, well… it's  _ complicated _ …"

"Yeah, well… I got nothing but time." Zuocheng poured the now tepid tea into another cup and drank it. "Give me some of the human food that you're so fond of making."

  
  
  
  


\-----

  
  
  
  


Yibo took his helmet off and walked to the elevator to go back up to his apartment. He took a deep breath and slumped against the wall, suddenly feeling so tired and in need of a long hot bath. 

He really hoped that the scenting thing Xiao Zhan did, worked and he didn't have to see the trio of ghosts pestering him again. 

At least not tonight. 

He needed to  _ think _ .

He unlocked the door and peeked inside, trying to listen to any voice; the crunching sounds of chips made by Yaoyao, the soft swish of heavy cloth made by Asuka, and the pitter-patter of little feet running around made by Suo-er; but he heard nothing.

He didn't realize that he was holding his breath until he released it.

He opened the door and went into the apartment, straight to the bathroom to draw a hot bath and finally released a contented sigh before drowning himself into the tub.

_ He needed to make plans. _

"Exactly what kind of plans do you have in mind, Wang Yibo?" 

The whispering voice was so close on his ear and he jumped in surprise to see Asuka half crouched beside him, tilting her head in curiosity.

"Asuka! What… what are you doing here? Where are the others?"

Yibo inadvertently moved further from Asuka, a slight panic rose inside his chest. It was almost like…  _ fear. _

_ He was afraid of this Asuka. _

The woman in question though, didn't seem to catch on his distress and moved closer until her face was only an inch away from him.

"I know what you're trying to do, Wang Yibo. The question is… are you really ready?" She grazed her long nailed fingers on his cheek. "Whatever it is, I hope you know what you're getting into." She moved away as stealthily as she did before.

"Oh, by the way, please say hello to Xiao Zhan for me. Tell him… tell him an old friend says hi." Her smile looked so forlorn, it took Yibo a while to catch her words.

_ Wait, how did Asuka know Xiao Zhan? _

He turned around to look for Asuka but she's gone. And not a peep from the other two.

He really needed to figure it out as soon as possible. It started to get on his nerves, all these secrets and half truths.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Anzhi

He knew he was not supposed to sneak out, especially at the commotion after his baby brother's birth. But he also knew that it was the best time to slip out unnoticed.

He really really wanted to go to the human world, after he eavesdropped on all the lower class demons that had been there. They whispered in the corners of the palace, giggling about things that he was not supposed to hear.

But the one thing he wanted to try the most was the food.

By the end of those demons' description of the food, he was drooling.

He wanted to eat the meat bun, the juicy dumplings, the hot broth with chewy noodles, the hot rice with thrice cooked pork belly, tanghulu, everything.

He didn't really know about whatever it was they were talking about. Dumplings? Noodles? Broth? Pork belly? He had no idea about what that was, but he wanted to try it all.

So he sneaked out.

Unfortunately, his power was not up to par. And he just found out when he was supposedly flying down,  _ supposedly _ being the key word.

His wings would not come out, and he was falling down from the hidden teleportation portal that happened to be on top of the mountain.

He tried to scream but he seemed unable to let out any sound and held his breath instead and let gravity take him.

He closed his eyes and tried to be calm. He knew he would not die, but it would still hurt like hell when he got to the bottom of the gorge, and he was saying what equivalent of a prayer when his descent stopped abruptly on something soft and he heard an oomph.

"Where the  _ hell _ did you come from??"

He opened his eyes to see the most gorgeous person out of all the angels, demons, humans, and he was staring at him, scowling, since he was sprawled on the man's thigh.

He was in awe, and couldn't stop looking at him. He was even more beautiful than his sister, who won the title of the most beautiful creature in all realms.

"Your Highness! Are you alright?" 

The sudden harsh sounds of metals unsheathed from its scabbard snapped him out of his reverie.

But the man, whose lap became his landing spot, raised his hand, and the soldiers moved back a step.

"Are you okay, child?"

He could not find his words, so he just nodded, dumbfounded.

"Where were you coming from? Where's your parents?"

He wondered why he suddenly became mute. He just opened and closed his mouth without being able to produce any sound, when his stomach decided to take a lead by sounding its protests. Hard.

There was a glint of mischievousness in the man's eyes, and the next second he was smiling, and took off on the horse, still carrying him in his arms, and brought him home, to the Palace.

  
  
  
  


"So, tell me, are you mute, child?"

He shook his head, but soon he was distracted by the environment that the beautiful man brought him in.

They were sitting inside a beautiful room decorated by drapes of finest silks weaved with gold threads. The china cups on the table were so beautiful it made him widen his eyes in wonder. This place was even more beautiful than his father's place, and his eyes greedily took notice of everything.

When the food was served, he looked at them with awe, drooling by the smell and the sight alone. But he noticed a bowl, filled with white fluffy stuff, and two long sticks beside it, and looked at the beautiful man helplessly.

The man raised his brow, but he showed him how to hold the chopsticks properly and he took some of the neatly arranged meat into his bowl.

"This is thrice cooked pork belly. It's very soft and succulent." Then he put a pocket shaped thing into the bowl. "And this is a pork and vegetable dumpling. Now eat."

He looked at his bowl, now filled with stuff, and shoved it all to his mouth with the little sticks, making him choke. 

"Easy, you don't have to be in a hurry, no one will take the food from you." The man wiped his mouth and gave him a cup of tea. He smiled and continued to shovel everything in his mouth.

_ This… this was heaven! This tasted a lot more better than the food they served in hell!  _

"What's your name? Where did you come from? How come you did not know how to use chopsticks and stuff?" The man ruffled the boy's hair fondly. "But judging from your clothes, you're not just some peasant boy, were you?"

"Xiao Zhan." He answered after he swallowed the food.

"What?"

"My name is Xiao Zhan." He gave the man the most beautiful smile the man had ever seen, and it took him by a surprise.

"Well, hello little Zhan, nice to meet you. My name is Xiao Chuan, but you may call me Anzhi."

"Anzhi."

"Yes. Now, can you tell me where did you come from?"

"Up." He pointed his finger up and smiled. "Want to eat great food! Meat bun! Tanghulu! Noodles!"

"What?" Anzhi laughed. "You came here just to eat?"

Xiao Zhan nodded excitedly.

"God, you're so cute," Anzhi pinched Xiao Zhan's cheek, "very well then, you may stay with me for as long as you like. Or until your parents come and get you. Do they know your whereabouts?" 

Xiao Zhan shook his head. 

"I will try and find them. You stay and finish your food. Later I will take you out for the night market."

Xiao Zhan demolished all the food on the table to Anzhi's amusement, and when he burped loudly, Anzhi patted his head and took him out to show him around the place, and assigned some maid and guard to be with him at all times.

He was having the time of his life.

In the next few days, aside from the variety of food that he tried, the one thing that left the biggest impression on him was Anzhi's smile.

Xiao Zhan learned that Anzhi almost never smiled at anyone, in fact, the only time he ever saw Anzhi smile was when he was with him.

Anzhi was a very very busy man, he woke up at dawn and practiced meditating for an hour, then martial arts for another two hour, then bath. Then he would have breakfast together with Xiao Zhan while talking to him like he was an adult instead of just a kid, then he left for court. Whatever that was. From the conversation he heard from the maids and the guards, he deducted that Anzhi was a very wise and strict ruler. He cared a lot about the well beings of his people, and he listened to everyone's opinion. But he was not a pushover, although his age seemed very young.

After what it seemed to be a very long time, Xiao Zhan found out that Anzhi was in fact, the Crown Prince of the country. The king was ill for a long time already and Anzhi took over everything. The country became more prosperous and the people loved him. It was just a matter of time before he was crowned King.

But as it was told in many stories, there was no protagonist without villains.

In this story, the villains were Anzhi's own half brothers from the other concubines.

They hated Anzhi because he was called the God's Child, and everyone seemed to be favoring him, that included the maids and the guards, the ministers, and especially the common people. They just wanted to have everything that Anzhi seemed to have without difficulties. They envied his looks, his grace, his martial arts, his everything.

Of course Anzhi knew about it. He just did not give any thoughts to the petty behaviour of his siblings, who always picked a fight over something trivial.

One day after dinner, Anzhi suddenly clutched his chest, and could not utter a word.

Xiao Zhan ran over to see what was going on when Anzhi already went cold from the fast acting poison that his half brother managed to sneak in the food by bribing one of Anzhi's maids.

As the light went out from Anzhi's beautiful eyes, Xiao Zhan felt a rage that he never felt before in his life, it shook him to the core of his very being.

Anzhi just turned twenty one years old this year.

_ Why? _

Xiao Zhan clutched the now cold body of the person that he loved the most in his embrace, and suddenly his wings; as black as the night; sprouted out of his tiny body, and it set fire to everything in sight as his sorrow grew.

That night, every one of the step brothers and their mothers, anyone who had anything to do with Anzhi's demise, alongside with their possessions, perished in a flame that burned blue, the cold fire that no one could put out, leaving only the youngest one alive.

From then, Xiao Zhan took Anzhi to the highest part of the highest mountain, put him inside the ice cave, preserving his body forever. He sealed the cave with his blood and swore to find every reincarnation of him in every lifetime.

And he would make sure that nothing was ever going to happen again to his beloved Anzhi.

  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

"Every reincarnation of Anzhi will have a short lifespan of twenty one years old and he will always die in a miserable death." Xiao Zhan sipped his tea and he spoke with a flat tone, although Zhuocheng knew better.

"Then, what made you change his path this time?"

Xiao Zhan suddenly slammed his teacup so hard it shattered in his hand.

"Tell me how could I, a venerable being, watch the only person I have ever loved in my entire life, die again and again and again when he has not even had a chance to start his life?" He gritted his teeth hard, then covered his face. "I know, it's pathetic to fall in love with a mere human being, as you've said, their life is just like a blink of an eye for us." He wiped the runaway tears, "but as I said before, I love him, Zhuocheng, I love his kind and gentle soul, and I don't care if he didn't even know about my love for him, or even my presence. It doesn't matter. I'm willing to sacrifice everything just to change his fate and let him have a proper life this time."

"Even though by doing so you're practically violating every single law that has ever been made? And lose your power as the consequences? Even though he doesn't have feelings for you?"

Xiao Zhan did not respond to the questions. He knew very well of the consequences, but he just could not ignore the ache in his heart every time he witnessed the man he loves die and die and die again, knowing he had the power to do something about it.

"It was worth it."

"Was it? He didn't even know about you, and don't think that I hadn't noticed that you lost your shadow already, or how you depend on the artifact just to conceal your presence. You're getting weaker and weaker until at the end you're just a speck of dust. And for what? Love? Wake up, Xiao Zhan, that kid doesn't love you."

"I don't need him to love me back. Just to see him happy is enough for me."

"Is it though?" Zhuocheng stood up and walked to the door. "I hope you won't regret it."

"I won't."

Zhuocheng sighed, and waved his hand.

"I'll talk to dad. No need to send me off." 

Then with a gust of wind, he disappeared.

Xiao Zhan took the pot of tepid tea to the sink to wash it, when suddenly he felt the overwhelming feeling of anguish and despair, and threw the pot against the wall as the tears fell down his eyes.

"As long as you are happy, I'll be satisfied…"

  
  


\-----

  
  


Wang Yibo bit his lips until it bled. 

He was standing right outside the open window of Xiao Zhan's house, where he could hear every single word that had been spoken between him and that strange man.

_Who was Anzhi?_

_Who was that person that made Xiao Zhan willing to break the rules for?_

_Would Xiao Zhan die if he lost his power?_

_What would happen if Xiao Zhan lost his power?_

He had so many questions in his head, but instead of asking the person himself he decided to walk to the river near Xiao Zhan's house, to clear his head. 

He was shook, especially after he heard Xiao Zhan, the calm and always collected Xiao Zhan, sobbed uncontrollably after throwing the pot until it shattered into million pieces.

_It hurt him so much._

He didn't understand why he felt like he was being punched in the solar plexus when he heard Xiao Zhan loved someone named Anzhi, and he even sacrificed his power in order to revive him.

_And here he thought that Xiao Zhan liked him._

Yibo sighed and plopped himself on the grass near the river and laid down to bask in the sunlight. He needed to ease this throbbing ache in his heart and sleeping seemed like a good idea and not long after, he dozed off.

  
  


_"... you came here just to eat?"_

_"... you're so cute…"_

_"... will take you to the night market…"_

  
  


Wang Yibo jolted up with a searing pain in his heart and blurry vision. He tried to shake off the sorrow he felt in his heart when he sensed another presence near him.

"You woke up? I prepared some light supper for you. I know you will be hungry after you vent your anger."

Xiao Zhan, ever the caring person he was, already laid out a blanket and arranged some fruits and osmanthus cake on top of it.

"How did you know I was here?" 

"I didn't. I just want to have a quiet night here, thinking, when I saw you slept, and I think you will be hungry if you wake up."

Yibo did not make a move, he just stared at Xiao Zhan.

"Did you just think of me as a… kid? Who needs to be fed, or pampered every time you see me?" Yibo suddenly felt the inexplicable anger within him, something that he could not explain.

Xiao Zhan was surprised by the burst of emotion that came out from the usually playful Yibo.

"...no, I just thought that…"

"What? That I'm just a spoiled kid, and you look down on me? Why bother, Xiao Zhan? Why don't you just… go and take care of the one you really love?" Yibo stood up and started to leave. "You don't have to do this anymore, I can manage on my own… I-I will deal with my problems by myself. Thanks anyway for your help."

With that, Yibo left, leaving Xiao Zhan behind with tears in his eyes.

  
  


\-----

  
  


Yibo spent the next week in a very very bad mood.

He did all of his work well, without complaint, and when a stray ghost seemed to enter his vision, he just glared at them with the murderous aura and the ghost would be gone.

He also did not want to deal with the trio of ghosts in his house, so he stayed at the hotel provided by his management so that he could get to the acting location faster. 

At least that's what he told them.

That night, he went back to the hotel totally exhausted and dirty from all the sweat and mud. So he decided to take a hot bath to ease his sore muscles and to help him with sleep, which had been eluding him ever since he left Xiao Zhan that night.

He was so absorbed in concentrating on how to relax himself when he inadvertently dozed off from all the hot water and aromatherapy oils, so when he jumped out of his skin thirty minutes later, the water had been cooled down and he got goosebumps all over his body. 

That was usually a sign that a ghost was near.

He sighed and got out of the tub, and wrapped himself in a fluffy bathrobe when the ominous feeling suddenly disappeared. He raised his brow in question but since the ghost wasn't there anymore, he walked out to the fluffy bed and dropped his body on it, when he heard a soft hiss under the pillow.

He went on full alert and took the pepper spray he got for himself in case of an intruder, when he saw a soft and fluffy furry creature went out from under the pillow and made a soft _meow_.

"...kitty?"

It was Jianguo, Xiao Zhan's cat.

"What are you doing here?" Yibo put the pepper spray away and took the cat in his arms. "Did you miss me?" He kissed the crown of Jianguo's head, earning him a soft purr and a lick. "Did you master know that you're here? Or… did he send you?"

Jianguo only purred from the soft words and snuck under the blanket, earning a chuckle from Yibo.

"Oh, you want to sleep with me? I'll be honored to, princess."

That night, he slept like he never slept before, and dreamed about the warmth from a young boy whose smile lightened up his world.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	8. Chapter 8

It's been three days and unexpectedly Jianguo was still with him. She just lazed around the hotel room and when Yibo came back from shooting, she just quietly observed him and finally went under the blanket to sleep with him.

Yibo quite enjoyed the feeling of coming home to something, someone, that was waiting for him, and greeted him warmly, and smiled at him, telling him that food's ready. The only person that popped in his mind was Xiao Zhan.

He sighed.

This stupid… _pipe dream_ … was creeping slowly and surely, poisoning his brain… and heart… with hope.

He sighed again and threw himself on the bed, thinking about the so-called pipe dream, the only thing that sustained him from having a breakdown.

_"You have to see him now."_

Yibo jolted up and looked around to see who was talking, but there was no one.

_"You have to go to him, now. Please."_

He knew, even without a doubt, that the _he_ the voice mentioned was Xiao Zhan, and it was like his body had a mind of its own, he half ran out of his room and flew away on his bike, to see the person he wanted to see the most. Even when he didn't want to see him.

Less than thirty minutes later, he arrived at Xiao Zhan's cottage, and hesitantly knocked on his door.

There was no answer.

He knocked again, and still no answer. 

It took him another three seconds before he decided to hell with it and tried to open the door, which was unlocked.

Yibo went inside and noticed straight away that the house didn't feel like what it used to. Now it felt cold, and unwelcoming. Everything looked dull and grey, not vibrant and warm and welcoming like… was it just a few days ago?

He searched around the house but couldn't find Xiao Zhan, or any sign that he lived there. It was like the house… withered.

Yibo started to panic. _Where was he?_

Then a thought dawned on him. 

_The river._

He broke into a run.

  
  
  
  
  
  


He found Xiao Zhan lying under the shadow of the willow tree near the river absolutely still and his heart fell. He rushed to Xiao Zhan's side and tried to feel his heartbeat by touching his finger to Xiao Zhan's pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

"What are you doing here?"

Yibo looked down and found Xiao Zhan was looking at him. There was a tiredness and shadows under those beautiful doe eyes and Yibo felt a pang in his heart.

"I was just passing by."

Xiao Zhan was quiet for a moment, then he chuckled.

"This place was way, way out of your usual route."

Yibo only coughed and he felt hot all over his face.

"By the way, Jianguo was with me, you know, in case you wondered where she went."

"I know."

Then the silence fell upon them once again.

After a while, Yibo looked down to find Xiao Zhan's eyes were closed.

"Zhan-ge, are you asleep?" 

He touched the runaway hair on Xiao Zhan's temple softly, and traced the outline of his defined jawline.

_Too skinny…_

"Do you know why he's in this state right now?"

Yibo was surprised to hear the familiar voice and turned around.

"Asuka." Yibo was surprised to see the source of the voice. "What are you doing here?"

"He exhausted his life force when he saved you from death." She walked closer to Xiao Zhan and Yibo instinctively shielded him with his body.

"Don't worry…" Asuka chuckled, "I won't bite." She then kneeled down beside Xiao Zhan and smiled so sadly while looking at the peaceful expression on his face.

"He was still the most beautiful creature in three realms, and in the end, you still fall for him. Again, and again, and again. Despite all of the hardness and the misery. And so does he."

Yibo was stunned with Asuka's words. 

"What are you talking about, Asuka? Do you know something that I don't? Do you know why he became like this? Tell me, please…"

"It's a very long story, but I want to know something first." Asuka turned her gaze to Yibo. "Do you love him?"

_Do you love him?_

_Did he love Xiao Zhan?_

He liked him, a lot. He knew that for sure.

Lately, when he saw Jianguo, he always thought of how he would like to go home to Xiao Zhan, who always had the most beautiful smile on his face, and all of his tiredness would melt away.

_Did he love Xiao Zhan?_

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_Yes._

_He loved Xiao Zhan._

Asuka probably saw something in his expression, and it made her gaze softened.

"Then I should probably tell you everything."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
